Broken People
by HazelCharm
Summary: Seven years ago, Hermione walked away from the tattered Wizarding World and her painful memories. Building a new life as a promising young therapist, a broken Theodore Nott stumbles into her life. Realizing the true damages the war wrought on everyone involved, together the pair begin the road to recovery. Rated M for mature content, violence, and abuse.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: All credit where credit is due, particularly to the esteemed J.K. Rowling._

 _"It is not only the living who are killed in war." Isaac Asimov_

"Oh, good. You're here. I have quite the case for you today. Just came in last night." The familiar voice penetrated the other sounds that floated around Hermione's head as soon as she walked into the doors of the facility. She turned to look at the woman beside her, a decade her senior, though the years had been kind and had allowed the woman to retain a youthful and energetic glow. Hermione smiled at her boss, and reached for the folder that was offered to her.

"Oh?" Hermione asked, "Challenging client or challenging injury? Either way, Beth, you know I can handle it. Let me take a look." Flipping through the folder, Hermione wrinkled her brow in a mixture of confusion and suspicion. "Huh. So he's claiming that he broke his femur falling down the stairs? Seems unlikely. Have you met with him yet?"

Beth shook her head. "My thoughts exactly. That's why I assigned you this one. You're good at this, and I have a feeling there's more to the story. I fit his evaluation in after your 7 o'clock so you have a chance to go over the file." With a quick hug and a smile, her boss turned to walk away, but paused briefly and threw Hermione a cheeky wink, "Oh, and the nurses from the hospital say that this guy's pretty dreamy."

Hermione's cheeks flushed lightly, more out of annoyance than embarrassment. She had only been on the job a few months, but already her co-workers had started to meddle into her social life. Especially Beth. The older woman had taken a liking to Hermione and had decided that she would be the one to fix Hermione up with the most eligible bachelor she could find. The witch could not seem to convince Beth that she enjoyed her solitude. It had been over six years since her last relationship and she still rarely missed the days of planning her life around another person. Being single allowed her an amount of freedom that she wasn't sure she had could remember ever truly experiencing. It was tempting to modify a charm to cause the muggle to forget about Hermione's love life, but she had moved away from the Wizarding World to get away from magic, not to use it for her own personal gain. Besides, they all meant well. With a sigh, the bushy haired therapist snapped out of her thoughts and headed towards her office.

For an hour, Hermione poured over paperwork that she needed to get in order before the weekend. She hated to leave anything sitting for too long, so she always came in early on Fridays to make sure all the week's papers had been finished. After she'd crossed everything off of her to-do lists, she turned back to the file. It was certainly an unusual one, the femur wasn't an easy bone to break. Especially in a young man who appeared to be in otherwise perfect health. She scanned his file again, looking for clues, but couldn't find anything to ease her suspicions. Glancing at her watch, Hermione realized that it was almost 7:15 a.m. and her first client hadn't shown, which wasn't unusual. Her first client was an older woman who had severe joint pain and the cold snap had significantly affected her recovery. It wasn't unusual for the woman to just decide not to come in, though Hermione would always gently scold the lady and remind her that therapy would help with the pain, she also understood the decision.

When it was almost a quarter to eight, Hermione got the call that her next appointment was there. She headed down to the waiting room to collect the man. Stepping into the door, she froze when she saw the man sitting next to a blonde woman. His face had matured, but the features were undeniably familiar. Ted Nottingham. How had she not put it together before? Her paranoid post-war mind was always suspicious and she was usually hyper-aware of any threats to her safe haven but somehow the connection must have slipped past her because across the room, _in the waiting room of a Muggle medical facility, mind you_ , sat one of her unmistakable childhood bullies turned mortal enemy, Theodore Nott.

"Merlin's bullocks."

 _Author's Note: Really short first chapter. Feeling the waters for this idea of a story._


	2. Chapter 2

_The most shocking fact about was is that its victims and its instruments are individual human beings, and that these individual beings are condemned by the monstrous conventions of politics to murder or be murdered in quarrels not their own."_

 _Aldous Huxley_

Shakily, Hermione tried to steady her voice as she pretended to look at her clipboard while she called his name.

"Mr. Ted Nottingham?" She forced herself to look back towards the man, who was now staring at her with piercing eyes and a blank expression. Though her heart was racing with adrenaline and her insides were screaming at her to run, she fought back and maintained an equally passive expression. The blonde woman wheeled him over towards Hermione, who smiled tightly and nodded for them to follow.

"Hello, Mr. Nottingham. My name is Hermione and I will be your therapist." Doing her best to keep small talk going as they approached the therapy room, Hermione inquired about the relationship status between the woman, Helen, who she recognized vaguely from her time at Hogwarts, and Theodore. It turned out that they were not married, but living together and it appeared that woman expected Theo to pop the question any time now. Theo was silent as Helen answered all of Hermione's questions, and Hermione made a mental note. The walk to the room felt like miles, but eventually they reached it. Pulling over a chair for Helen, Hermione sat down on the opposite side of the table and opened the folder in front of her.

"So I just want to go over a few things before we start discussing your goals and start deciding how to implement treatment." Hermione launched into her work, knowing that Theodore was fully aware that she was avoiding addressing him directly.

"It says in the file that you broke your leg falling down the stairs?" She questioned, looking up to observe their reactions. "Must've been a nasty spill. Were there any other injuries?"

The couple exchanged an odd glance, before Theo cleared his throat.

"My arm was bruised, but it's already healed." He looked directly at her, unwavering in his passivity. He was not going to acknowledge who she was and she was perfectly happy to continue to deny their history but Helen was not about to let that happen.

"Aren't you _the_ Hermione Granger?" She asked. "What are you doing here?"

Hermione couldn't help the small huff of air that escaped her chest.

"I could ask you the same question." Hermione's reply shut the witch up temporarily and she continued to go through the evaluation. She focused on the therapy only and went through the ropes, trying to ignore the unwavering stare of Theodore as she went about her evaluation. Once they had finished discussing the plans for recovery, she informed him that the session was over.

"May I speak to you in private, Ms. Granger." It was the first time the whole session that Theodore had addressed her directly and hadn't simply answered her questions. Nodding, Hermione couldn't help but glance at Helen who suddenly looked very uncomfortable. However, Theodore was her client and he was in charge of his recovery, she was merely the facilitator. Nodding, she gestured to the door way on her left.

"My office is through there." She replied. "Let me show Helen to the waiting room and I will be back."

"I'll wait here, thanks." Helen said with a glare. Hermione raised an eyebrow at her and the woman quickly rushed to correct herself. "I mean, I have to help him out to the car anyways, so it's just easier if I wait here."

Hermione pretended to accept the woman's excuse and turned to guide Theodore into her office and he shut the door behind them.

"I'm aware of the awkwardness of the situation." Theo didn't bat an eye as he launched straight to the point. "I'm aware of the crimes I committed against you as a teenager and I don't expect forgiveness. However, I would prefer that you did not inform anyone in the Wizarding World of my location. I'm trying hard to atone for my sins, and Helen felt that living in the muggle world would be the best way to do so, and the one comfort is that no one from my past is aware of my location. I would like to keep it that way."

Hermione remained quiet as Theo finished, letting the room drop into silence for a moment as she gathered her thoughts. Finally, she spoke.

"I have two conditions. One, you do the same for me and, two, you tell me how you really broke your leg." Theo's expression faltered for the first time since she had seen him. Blinking, he tried to hide the shock, but he failed and dropped his gaze to the floor.

"I told you, I'm trying to atone for my sins."

"That's not an answer." Hermione informed him.

"Helen accidently hit me with her car. She was angry and tried to drive away too quickly."

"Angry at whom?"

There was a long pause before Theo replied.

"Me." He sighed before elaborating. "She found a copy of the Prophet at our flat with an article detailing my father's trial. He… He killed her brother in the war. She started screaming and tried drive away and I tried to stop her. She didn't mean to."

A pang of sympathy hit Hermione. Life hadn't been kind to any of them. In the end, they were all the victims.

"Your father's sins are not yours." She reminded him, before drawing their meeting to a close. "I'll see you next week at the same time."


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3:_

 _"_ _Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it."_

 _-J.K. Rowling_

Hermione made it through the rest of the day in a daze. It was so bad, in fact, that she didn't even remember making it back to her own flat. Tired and worn out, she went to fridge to grab something for dinner, but found herself staring blankly at the contents, realizing that she had no desire to actually make anything. She sighed for what felt like the thousandth time that day, grabbed a menu off the counter, and ordered take-out.

When her food arrived, she sat cross-legged on her sofa with a bottle of wine, her mind still reeling over the day's events. By the time she had finished her food and half the bottle of wine, Hermione made the slightly intoxicated decision to call the only person she had entrusted with the details of her whereabouts. Five minutes later, George Weasley was sitting on her couch, trying to console the sobbing witch as she tried to drunkenly explain the day's events.

"I don't know what happened, George. He was just there… and I just kind of… I didn't know what to do and…" Her mine sucked in a huge breath of air as she prattled on and George just sat there with a bewildered expression. The two had gotten close after the war, George reeling with the loss of his twin and Hermione desperately needing someone to care for. Neither one could understand how everyone else seemed so keen on forgetting the war. It had happened and there was no hiding from it, at least to George and Hermione, so when Hermione made the decision to leave the Wizarding World, he had been the one to help her. It wasn't a romantic relationship, far from it actually, George was simply the older brother Hermione had never had and Hermione was the younger sister that actually depended on George. Ginny didn't count, she was happily married to Harry and had always been fiercely independent of her brothers, anyways. Not that Hermione wasn't independent, either, but everyone needed someone after the war and they had found each other.

Hermione's sobs finally slowed to the point where George felt it was safe to reenter the conversation. He was usually pretty good at understanding her, but since she couldn't even get a full sentence out, he was really struggling.

"Hold up, 'Mione." The red-headed man said, giving her a quick squeeze before holding her away from him so he could see her face. "Let me try and get this straight before you go blubbering again, which you're perfectly entitled to do, I just want to try and figure this out first." He paused and made sure she was listening, waiting for her to nod before continuing.

"So what you're saying is that bloody, good-for-nothin' Slytherin came into your clinic today with a broken leg bone? He didn't try to hurt you did he? Not that he stood a chance against you if he'd tried but y'know what I'm saying."

"He… He didn't try to hurt me. I… I actually felt _bad_ for him. He was sitting there looking pathetic in a damn wheelchair and I think his girlfriend is abuse. Maybe not on purpose, but he lied about how he broke his leg and I think he thinks that he _deserves_ to be hurt…" Hermione's words were starting to form complete thoughts now, and the picture was slowly forming.

"Oh. 'Mione, you can't fix someone who doesn't want to be fixed, remember that." George pulled her in for another hug. "C'mon, let's get you into bed before you soak my shirt over house elf rights."

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" Hermione huffed miserably, her words muffled by the embrace.

"Nope, never going to happen." George replied cheekily. "I'll stay for the weekend and tomorrow we're going to go out and have some fun. No wallowing in pity for some crippled spawn of Death Eaters."

Hermione obeyed, and followed George around as he handed her a glass of water, then her toothbrush, and pajamas and so forth until Hermione was tucked comfortably in her bed and the Weasley was happily curled up on her coach. Both fell asleep quickly, because it was an unspoken truth that when they were near each other, the nightmares of war never plagued them.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4:_

 _"_ _One must not forget that recovery is brought about not by the physician, but by the sick man himself. He heals himself, by his own power, exactly as he walks by means of his own power, or eats, or thinks, breathes and sleeps."_

 _-Georg Groddeck_

The weekend with George passed quickly and with plenty of laughter. It ended with careful goodbyes and reminders not to divulge her location to anyone. After George left, Hermione threw herself into her work, caring for her clients with renewed vigor. The week slipped away quickly, as time often does when one is trying to avoid their future, and Friday crept up on her all too soon.

Her movements felt robotic and staged as she walked to the waiting room to collect Theodore and Helen. Steeling herself for the inevitable shock waves of panic, she opened the door to see only Theo leaning on a pair of crutches. He looked up when he heard the door open and their eyes met. A strange expression flashed in his eyes, it almost looked like relief, but she pushed that thought from her mind and assumed it was just her imagination playing tricks on her.

"Hi." She said, as he made his way towards her, clearly still not comfortable on the crutches. He nodded at her in response and they walked back together in silence.

"So where's Helen?" She asked after the silence had become unbearable.

"She didn't want to come." Theo said, his mask of blank emotion firmly in place. Hermione got the message and moved on to some leg exercises. When they had gone through the basic routine that would be the base of his therapy, Hermione offered to help Theo get a better grasp on the crutches.

"I think they're a little too short for you anyways, if we lengthen them and add some padding, plus teach you a better way to handle them it may be more comfortable for you."

He agreed and placed the crutches on the table. As he pushed them across towards her, his sleeve caught on the corner and rode up, exposing his arm. The angry black tattoo that plagued many of Hermione's nightmares suddenly flashed before her. She froze, and tried to look away, but all she could do was stare in shock and horror. Theo swiftly covered his arm and jerked it away from her gaze, but not before she also noticed the angry red scratches that crossed the marked skin. Shaking, she couldn't find the words to speak, and Theo refused to meet her gaze. Another deafening silence overtook them, but this time it was Theo who broke it.

"It frightens me, too." He said, his low voice barely above a whisper, "I tried to get it removed. Apparently that doesn't work. Helen hates it. I have to keep it covered all the time."

Hermione recovered slowly, but did not reply. Instead, she stood up and walked over to a cabinet in her office and returned with a salve and a bandage.

"May I?" She asked softly, and Theo reluctantly held out his arm to her. Gently, she rolled up the sleeve and looked at the bright lacerations that surrounded the dark ink. Taking a deep breath, she gently began to rub the salve into the wounds.

"It's actually a potion. I keep it around for myself but it'll heal this." She explained, as she wrapped the bandage carefully around the offended area. Theo watched her silently as she finished.

"Did you do this to yourself?" She continued, looking up to meet his gaze. He shook his head before replying.

"I can't blame her. It's a constant reminder of the monster I was."

"Muggles try never to blame children soldiers for committing someone else's crimes. I think it's a lesson that the Wizarding World should adopt." Theo simply stared at her.

"Why are you doing this for me?" He asked. "I thought for sure that by Friday you would have packed your bags and left."

Hermione wasn't sure how to answer him because, the truth was, that idea _had_ crossed her mind. She had been so careful to choose locations that she thought no witch or wizard would ever go and she still wasn't comfortable with the idea that she was sharing that space with him. But she was Hermione Granger and Hermione Granger was many things and a coward was not one of them. So she had decided to stand her ground, but she couldn't tell him all of that. He was already very badly broken and she didn't have the desire to add any more pain to another person's life. No matter who the person was.

"This is my job, I can't just walk away from it." She replied, finally. "And since you are my client, it is also my job to pay attention to your wellbeing. I have a feeling you won't like what I have to say, but I'm going to have to say it. I believe it may be in your best interest to break things off with Helen and move out. These injuries are starting to show a pattern of domestic abuse, regardless of intent. It's very easy to forgive our loved ones when they hurt us, but we have to be careful to separate forgiveness from making excuses."

Theo pulled away from Hermione as she spoke. Standing, he did not look at her as he spoke.

"I think I've had enough for today. I'll see you next week, Ms. Granger."


	5. Chapter 5

_"How gracious to forgive the people who hurt you" - Lailah Gifty_

He certainly wasn't the first person she had ever delivered that news to, and he definitely wasn't going to be the last. It came with her job, she worked to help people and so she saw everything- the good, the bad, and the ugly. As much good as she did with her job, it was the painful moments that stuck with her the most. Human nature, she supposed. It still never got easier, and she found herself leaving the office with a very heavy heart. She understood his reaction, in fact, she had even anticipated it and his abrupt departure also left her with the sinking feeling that he was aware of the problem. Between his self-deprecating comments and the look in his eyes, Hermione knew that she was dealing with a damaged man. This was going to be a much harder case than she thought, and she had never assumed it would be easy.

She started walking, but with her head so full of thoughts, she didn't end up at her flat. Instead, her feet followed another familiar path and guided her towards her favorite part of the city.

The small café was tucked away between a few stores and some town houses, just a few streets back from one of the main roads. Far enough from the bustling main streets that few people ventured back, but not so far that it was too dangerous. Not that the threat of danger really stopped Hermione from much. After all, she had survived a war and, occasionally, she found herself missing the action. The café was a quaint place, far bigger on the inside than it appeared. By day it was a quiet coffee shop that offered some of the most delicious pastries Hermione had ever tasted. At night was when the real magic came alive and the café turned into a bar with a small stage in the back where local musicians came to play. It attracted a fairly calm but eclectic crowd, full of new characters that Hermione had grown to love. They had one thing in common, they loved stimulating conversation, and Hermione enjoyed going in and discuss everything from foreign policy to movies to the silly thing a coworker said that day.

It was a little after seven o'clock when she arrived, and the sun was just starting to sink behind the buildings. It was her favorite time of day to go in because the day to night transition was just starting to take place. The familiar smell of coffee and leather filled her nostrils as she found a corner to sit and watch the place transform.

The baristas shrugged off their coffee shop aprons, and switched to simple black aprons that wrapped around their waists before scurrying off to move chairs and tables to the edges of the room. A small group of teenagers scurried about the back corner with cords and lights and instruments. As the jumbled pile of equipment was sorted into its place, a stage sprang to life.

As the band warmed up, people began to filter in. Regulars, at first. Hermione recognized many of them, greeting some with a nod and even chatting with a few that she remembered by name. The interactions were always brief, the regulars all had their own reasons for visiting the bar, and the quick explanation was the quiet acceptance of mutual solitude. To each their corners, with their own thoughts and problems to mull over or escape from. It was unspoken, but respected. As the music spilled out into the night, it would draw in the crowd that the regulars could get lost in.

Hermione sat watching the band, feeling herself relax as she sipped on her drink. The time passed quickly here, and before long everything was winding down. She had sat closer to the back, where she could easily see without being seen, but that particular night she hadn't paid much attention to the coming and goings of the crowd. This local band had been astonishingly good, the crowd had been large, and Hermione was too distracted by the music to truly dedicate her mind to people-watching. So when she found herself trapped in eye contact with none other than Theodore Nott, she found herself paralyzed with shock.

Her mouth must have dropped clear to the floor, because he visibly flinched before hobbling slowly over to her table. Recovering enough to move, she stood quickly, knocking over her chair in the process. It was her turn to jump visibly, as the chair crashed to the ground.

"I didn't mean to scare you." Theodore started. Hermione just stared at him, incredulous. His expressionless mask slipped slightly as concern flashed across his eyes. "Please don't be alarmed but I may have tracked you here."

The confession snapped Hermione out of her trance, and her jaw tightened.

"You may have _tracked_ me here?" She hissed at him, her eyes narrowing into a glare. He met her gaze calmly, the mask back in place.

"Yes. I thought about what you said… earlier. I needed to speak to you about that."

Hermione breathed in sharply, her no-nonsense professionalism slipping into place.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, Mr. Nott, but that is something that must be discussed during an appointment. I cannot have this conversation with you outside of the clinic. However, if you would like to schedule an appointment, you know how to reach me." Grabbing her coat, she began to walk away, leaving her client standing behind her. She had almost made it to the door before he spoke again

"Wait… Hermione… please. Just… hear me out."

The desperation in his voice hit a chord in Hermione. She stopped walking and stood there, weighing her options. It was unlikely he was going to change his current condition any time soon, it just wasn't something that happened. At the same time, he was reaching out. Possibly for help. That was a big deal. Now was the time to try and get through to him. And yet, it was unprofessional. She couldn't' help him outside the clinic and not to forget the personal side of things. Yes, she was able to set aside her own prejudices and fears to help him therapeutically, but this was crossing the line. Did she forgive him enough to help him? Did she really believe all that she had told him, comparing them to child soldiers? She felt responsible for her actions in the war, and it was hard not to hold her peers to that standard.

Her brain fired thought after thought at her as she tried to weigh the pros and cons, before she finally settled on a decision.

"I will hear you out. That's all I'm agreeing to right now. You have an hour of my time."


	6. Chapter 6

" _Nobody else is dealing with your demons, so maybe defeating them could be the beginning of your meaning, friend." -Twenty One Pilots, Kitchen Sink_

Hermione wasn't supposed to do this. In fact, it was breaking several codes- both of her workplace and of herself. Fraternizing with a client outside of the clinic had steep consequences and Hermione hated to break the rules, but Bleeding Heart Granger was also a curious creature by nature and she couldn't resist. Motioning for him to follow her, she led them to a Disapparation point in a nearby corner of the city that she had set up for her own personal use. He couldn't be walking around on that leg and she needed to be sure they wouldn't be overheard.

She was silent as she grabbed his arm and spun. The familiar squeeze of magic pulled her towards her destination. They landed in an abandoned building. She didn't trust him enough to lead him anywhere close to her home, but she was confident enough in her abilities as a witch that she felt okay being alone with him. Pulling over some boxes, she silently transfigured them into a small sitting room. The magic flowed through her, comforting her. It was such a part of her now, as much as she tried to limit her use of it, she still loved the feeling. She felt like an artist returning to her paints, the Muggles who used the word 'magical' as a descriptor couldn't begin to imagine the true beauty of the feeling of real magic.

"Sit." She commanded to the man who had followed her without so much as a questioning glance. He obeyed her, his eyes never leaving her face. They observed each other carefully, truly seeing each other for the first time. Hermione didn't seem much of the boy she had known in school- he seemed too compliant and too… far away? There was a distance to him, as if he had pulled himself from this world to escape. She recognized that absent-present appearance immediately. It was a state of being that she was all too familiar with. He was there, in front of her, but his mind was far from the place.

Clearing her throat, she watched as his eyes snapped back into focus at the sound. Sitting down in the plush chair she had created for herself, she nodded at him.

"Go ahead, speak your piece."

Theodore Nott hesitated, suddenly unsure of his decision. Hannah wouldn't be home for a week- she had left to see her family, but he wasn't one to share things with people and this wasn't just anyone. This was Hermione Granger, one third of the Golden Trio. She could do far more damage than just break him the way Hannah and the war had. She had the power to utterly destroy him. If she chose not to help him, he had no hope. This was a desperate attempt to save himself and she could very easily choose to sit back and watch him drown.

"I didn't break my leg on accident." He stated. Watching her eyebrow quirk up knowingly. Of course, the damn witch already knew that, his mind growled out. She was too good for that to slip her notice. He began to speak and the story just fell out. There was no stopping it now, a waterfall of words and emotions. This wasn't him, this was some possessed broken man spilling his heart to a woman who should have been his enemy. Theodore didn't even recognize the man who was speaking, he had locked that part away for so long.

Hannah's hatred was understandable, to some degree. Yet, there was nothing that could justify her actions. It was hard, but in Hermione's justice-oriented mind, Hannah was making herself almost as bad as the enemy itself. To take her pain and anger out on a single person, and to focus the blame of a war on one man was cruel and terrible. There was no way around it. Hermione didn't expect everyone to view the war with as much maturity and forgiveness as she did, but she couldn't fathom what would possess Hannah to go to such lengths to punish a Nott. They were all just kid soldiers, surely most people understood that by now?

Hermione's face did little to hide her thoughts during his tale. The war had never ended for Theo. It had never ended for her either, which was why she had left the Wizarding World. Everyone else had moved on, forgotten, but she couldn't forget. He was still fighting his battle, the war had hallowed him and refilled him with self-loathing and pity. She could see that he felt as if he deserved the pain Hannah inflicted upon him. How was she to break that cycle?

Silence fell over the unlikely pair as his story came to an end. Shadows followed the silence, and they withdrew into their own worlds, each debating the magnitude of what this could mean.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay and for the short chapter, but I'm working hard to get back into it! Thank you all for the encouraging reviews- they've really inspired me to keep going with this! I don't think I could have continued without them, so I'm going to be selfish and ask you to keep them coming. They do wonders with motivating me. Again, I'm very sorry it has taken so long to get this chapter written, but I had a bad depressive/anxiety episode last semester and I'm just finally recovering.

Also, does anyone want me to include a chapter with Theo's whole story? I've thought about adding in a flashback chapter, but I wasn't sure if that would break this up too much.


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